The festival in the Kulturpark took place for the first time in 1977 and was held as a music festival for families in the Reisinger and Herbert grounds.

In the 1990s, folklore was moved to the park at Freudenberg Castle ("Folklore in the Garden"). There were up to 60,000 predominantly young visitors, so the program was geared more towards the young target group. In 2004, the decision was made to move to the grounds of the Schlachthof cultural center and to hand over the organization to its operators. In August 2007, the festival was opened on the Schlachthof grounds and the addition "in the garden" was removed from the name. From 2009, Folklore attracted around 20,000 visitors on all three days combined.

In addition to music - rock, pop, hip-hop and reggae - the festival was also characterized by culinary offerings with dishes from all over the world. There were also stands from political and social initiatives as well as artisans. Street theater and family programs were also offered.

After the move to the former slaughterhouse site, the discussion about noise pollution for local residents continued. The festival took place for the last time in 2015.